Archive for April, 2009

A newspaper recently asked the following question – When is Mr. Obama coming to Belize? – to the Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow in Trinidad at the 5th Summit of the Americas,.

According to Barrow, President Obama told him that he would like to come to Belize. He also added that the US president is likely to announce his nomination for the next ambassador to Belize soon. Barrow said, “He is telling me that the person he proposes to nominate is a very, very good friend of his and he thinks that will make it easier for him to work on the logistics of coming to Belize.”

On April 15, Prime Minister, the Hon. Dean O. Barrow left the country in order to participate in the 5th Summit of the Americas. The Summit will be held on April 17-19 in Port-of-Spain, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The 5th Summit will be a discussion among the heads of Government of the 34 participating nations of the Western Hemisphere that will be focused on human prosperity, energy security, sustainable development and climate change. The theme of the Summit is “Securing our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental Sustainability.”

The Prime Minister is accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Kim Simplis- Barrow. The Belize delegation to the Summit includes also the Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, the Minister of Economic Development, Commerce & Industry, and Consumer Protection, Hon. Erwin Contreras, Chief Executive Officer in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms. Audrey Wallace, and Belize’s Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the O.A.S., H.E., Mr. Nestor Mendez.

On April 3, officials from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) left Belize after a working visit. The IDB representatives visited the jurisdiction to discuss ways to support Government efforts in the area of Integrated Disaster Risk Management.

The IDB officials met with NEMO’s National Emergency Coordinator, Chief Executive Officers in the Ministries of Works and Economic Development, Officials from Climate Change Center and other key agencies.

Also, they introduced a model of the Central American Probabilistic Risk Assessment (CAPRA) Initiative to Belize. This initiative is being implemented in the region.

On March 27, 2009, concluding its annual visit to Belize, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a statement. This time the IMF team was headed by Advisor in the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, Przemek Gajdeczka.

The team held discussions with government officials and private sector representatives that were focused on the impact of the global slowdown on Belize as well as on the medium-term strategy of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms. According to the IMF, “Liquidity conditions in banks and other financial institutions will need to be monitored closely to help protect the stability of the domestic financial system.”

The statement issued by the Fund says that Belize is “vulnerable to global developments, as the economy is likely to be affected by declining tourism receipts and remittances, as well as lower FDI inflows, and that high external debt and relatively low external reserves limit the space for counter-cyclical policies.”

It is expected that the IMF’s Executive Board will discuss the Belize report in April. Shortly thereafter, the staff report should be made public.